Kris Shannon’s World of Sport The zero who’s now the triple- double hero
Westbrook’s staggering individual stats currently make him the NBA’s most interesting player
For a player who wears zero on his back, it’s appropriate Russell Westbrook’s pursuit of a set of famous round numbers is the most prominent story in the opening quarter of the NBA season.
Sure, there are other appealing narratives, like whether Kevin Durant’s assimilation into the Warriors is going well ( it is) or whether Golden State and Cleveland are already setting up the third instalment in a trilogy of championship showdowns ( they are). But Westbrook is presently the most interesting man in the NBA.
Which, from the moment the Warriors lured Durant from the Thunder, was predictable. How Westbrook would react without his fellow All Star, the man he had played beside his entire career, was always going to intrigue.
Less predictable, though: the level of performance Westbrook is consistently reaching.
Through 20 games, the Oklahoma City point guard is averaging 31.2 Westbrook sincerely believes the cliche about the only number mattering being the one of the scoreboard.
For the rest of us, it’s difficult to avoid focusing on the Thunder man maintaining double- digit averages in three categories, surpassing a trio of round numbers that are somehow arbitrary and at once incredibly meaningful.
Sport might not need numbers to flourish; football has coped fine with little statistical input, while few fans could answer how many players surpassed 1000 running metres in the last Super Rugby season ( six, apparently).
But in codes such as basketball and baseball, there’s no separating statistics, both traditional and advanced, from what happens on the field. And that is a very good thing.
Because numbers offer a greater understanding in sport, providing everyone from coaches to supporters the chance to confirm with concrete data what they think they have seen with their eyes.
And numbers create context, allowing us to compare across eras and see that what Westbrook is currently accomplishing would, if it continues for the next 62 games, count among the greatest individual seasons in NBA history.